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Used Media

Welcome to the exciting world of used media! There’s a whole treasure trove of sound and video out there that has been lying dormant for years waiting to be rediscovered.

All these items are used, and may display signs of their previous lives. We analyze each item as it is added to our inventory, looking for items we believe have maintained their audio and visual integrity in relation to their age and unique characteristics. Unfortunately we cannot listen to and/or watch every second of recorded media we offer (that’d be a fun job, though), but we do our best to assess each item on what we can observe, only selling what meets acceptable standards of quality for the format.

Our goal is to provide our audience with an experience as close to the original as possible while respecting the marks of time and use and the natural degradation to which many of these formats are naturally predisposed.

We offer a variety of formats — cassette, CD, vinyl, VHS — but no matter what physical delivery method you’re interested in, if you’re thinking about purchasing a piece of used media from Retrospekt, there’s a few things to be aware of right upfront:

Used Cassette Tapes

We physically inspect each cassette tape to ensure the felt pad is present and secure. We clean the plastic shell of the cassette and rewind the tape to the beginning. Each tape is then placed in a new acrylic case.

When listening to vintage tapes, you may hear frequency distortions, tape hiss, warble and volume dips. Paper J-cards included with the cassette may show signs of light wear including tears, folds, small marks or writing and minimal UV and moisture damage.

Used VHS

We physically inspect each tape and sleeve to check for quality. The exterior of each tape is cleaned. Each tape is rewound to the beginning.

When viewing used VHS tapes, you may experience increased grain, tracking deviations and decreased sound quality. VHS sleeves and cases may show signs of light wear, including bent corners, small tears, scratches, scuffs, creases, light sticker damage, light UV damage and minimal markings. VHS cassettes may show signs of light wear, including scratches, scuffs, minimal markings and minor cracks. Some may feature vintage video store decals on the cassette or case.

Used Vinyl

We physically inspect all of our vinyl to make sure the playing surfaces are in acceptable condition and free from any nicks, gauges and large scratches. Vinyl is then cleaned with a brush to remove as much dust and debris as possible.

When listening to vintage records, you may hear imperfections like crackling, slight skipping and frequency distortions. Record sleeves may show signs of light wear including bent corners, scratches, scuffs, marks and minimal UV and moisture damage.

Used CDs

We physically inspect every CD and booklet to check for quality. Each disc is cleaned and placed in a new acrylic case.

Some visible signs of wear to the disc and/or case itself are to be expected with used CDs, but, due to their digital nature, sound quality should be very resilient. We tolerate superficial scratches as long as they do not affect playback. CD booklets may show signs of light wear like small rips, folds and small amounts of handwriting.

My tape has total audio dropouts, excessive warble or consistent distortion on a large percentage of the recording! My vinyl has total audio dropouts, excessive skipping (more than once per track), or incessant frequency distortions! My CD has total audio dropouts or excessive skipping! The video and audio on my VHS tape is distorted beyond recognition, drops out consistently at the same point in the preventing me from playing the tape in its entirety!

You can return it within 14 days.

See our full return policy for more information.